Mari Kajiwara

Mari Kajiwara (1951-2001)

Born in New York to Japanese-American parents, she began dancing at age five. She studied in the City College Academy of the Arts and immediately upon graduating began performing with the Glen Tetley Dance Company. She was a leading dancer in Alvin Ailey’s American Dance Theater for 15 years, and later served as a rehearsal manager in the company. During her time with Ailey’s company she toured across the Americas, Europe, Russia and East Asia. She served as Ailey’s assistant and staged his works in the Royal Danish Ballet and La Scala.

In 1978, Kajiwara met Ohad Naharin in Israel while visiting Israel to teach Ailey’s dances to Bat-Dor in preparation for the company’s tour in the US. The two married that same year. In 1984, she left Ailey’s company and joined Naharin’s company in New York as a dancer and assistant. She also designed the costumes for Naharin’s dance Tabula Rasa, choreographed for Batsheva in 1987. In 1990, upon Naharin’s appointment as Batsheva’s artistic director, Kajiwara joined the company as a dancer and chief rehearsal manager. She dance in Kyr and Sinking of the Titanic (1990); Arbos (1991); Mabul (1992), and more. In her capacity as Naharin’s personal assistant and rehearsal manager, she travelled around the world to teach his works, including in Sidney, Montreal, Paris and Holland. In 1996 she stopped dancing and focused on rehearsal management. Mari Kajiwara had a significant impact on Naharin’s work and the company’s dancers until her untimely death on December 25, 2001.

In 2002, Batsheva commemorated Kajiwara in a special event that included performances by the company, as well as tributes by several foreign companies.